An off-duty Harris County deputy constable shot and killed a man who charged at her after forcing his way into her south Houston apartment.

The deputy was standing outside her second-floor apartment on Oakmoor Parkway at Airport about 6:30 p.m. Thursday when two women who lived upstairs pushed her inside then followed behind and locked the door.

Houston police said a man identified by relatives as Corey Hayes, 22, began banging on the front door before eventually forcing it open.

The Precinct 7 deputy identified herself as a law enforcement officer. Her young son was standing behind her.

The two women also told Hayes she was an officer, an HPD spokesman said.

Police said Hayes then charged at the deputy, who fired one time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Angry argument

Before the shooting, Hayes had been quarreling with the two women who were related to him. Houston police said they believe Hayes had been staying at their apartment and became angry when they told him to leave.

It appears they went to the deputy's apartment for safety because they knew she was in law enforcement, police said.

The deputy is in the Precinct 7 reserves. She is a five-year veteran there and will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. She was shaken up but not physically injured from the ordeal, officials said.

Car crash victim

Darrell Shanks was among several family members outside the apartment complex.

He said Hayes, his cousin, was in a severe car crash about a year ago and had not been the same since.

"He grew up a good kid," Shanks said. "He wasn't a gang banger and didn't have a criminal record."

Houston police, the Precinct 7 constable's office and the Harris County District Attorney's Office have each launched investigations into the fatal shooting.